What is the difference between ribbon and carbon ribbon?
Carbon ribbon is a specialized consumable for barcode printers, which is covered with a layer of carbon powder. During printing, the hot carbon powder is transferred from the printed head to the adhesive label. This process is called thermal transfer printing, also known as carbon ribbon or thermal transfer ribbon, and is suitable for barcode printers. Carbon ribbon is a high-tech professional coating material, and its quality is not only related to the quality of printers, including clarity, adhesion, and durability, but also closely related to the service life of equipment, especially expensive print heads. According to different material compositions, carbon ribbons can be divided into wax based carbon ribbons, resin based carbon ribbons, and mixed based carbon ribbons.
Ribbon is also a type of printing consumable. From the earliest mechanical impact type English printers to later computer needle printers, ribbon was used. The working principle of the ribbon is to use the dot matrix collision needle inside the head of the needle printer or the letter collision piece in the English typewriter to collide with the printing ribbon, producing a printing effect on the printing paper.
The composition of the ribbon is very simple, which is made by weaving nylon thread as the raw material and soaking and dyeing it with ink. A good ribbon should have a durable base, high elasticity, and be able to print for a long time without pilling, continuous stitching, or loose edges. Its performance is mainly characterized by a flat surface with no protruding fiber knots, uniform and tight warp and weft density organization, straight and uniform cutting edges, and no burning phenomenon. Touched by hand: The base is soft and delicate, with a smooth feeling. Good elasticity and recovery when pulled. Poor quality ribbon base has severe wire breakage and pulling, feels hard when touched, uneven cutting edges, severe edge burning, low elasticity when pulled, poor recovery, often gets stuck during printing, and is prone to lotus leaf edges, leading to needle blockage, tape jamming, and other phenomena.
Choose carbon ribbon printing labels or thermal printing labels?
Carbon ribbon printing is the process of printing content onto labels using carbon ribbon. The advantage is that it is waterproof, scratch resistant, and the handwriting is very clear. However, the cost of printing labels with carbon tape is relatively high. Secondly, due to the need for carbon ribbon printing, its printing speed is relatively slow.
Thermal printing is the process of printing content onto labels through heating. The advantages are low cost, fast printing speed, and very clear handwriting. However, thermal printed labels have poor waterproof performance and are easily affected by humid environments. Secondly, its scratch resistance is not as good as carbon tape printed labels.
So, which type of printing label should I choose? Actually, it mainly depends on your needs. If you need to keep labels for a long time or place them in a humid environment, carbon tape printing labels are more suitable for you. If you need to print a large number of labels quickly or only need to keep them for a short period of time, thermal printing labels are more suitable for you.
How to distinguish the front and back of carbon ribbon?
Look: It's difficult to distinguish the front and back of the carbon ribbon without careful observation. The front side has carbon powder on it, which doesn't look so smooth and has a slight resistance when touched by hand; The reverse side is a glossy film, which looks very bright.
Adhesive: Use one side of a label paper with adhesive to stick the carbon tape. After sticking, remove it and check. The side with black carbon powder on it is the opposite side.
Carbon ribbon can be divided into outer carbon and inner carbon based on the carbon coating surface. The carbon coating surface outside the roll is called outer carbon, and the carbon coating surface inside the roll is called inner carbon. The correct installation of the barcode printer should face the printer medium (such as copperplate paper, label paper, matte silver dragon, etc.) on the front of the carbon ribbon.
The difference between wax based carbon ribbon, mixed based carbon ribbon, and resin based carbon ribbon
If carbon ribbons are not studied, one may encounter difficulties in selecting resin based carbon ribbons, wax based carbon ribbons, and wax/tree mixed carbon ribbons. Carbon ribbon can be divided into several types: wax based carbon ribbon, mixed carbon ribbon, and resin based carbon ribbon. Generally speaking, wax based carbon ribbon is not very scratch resistant, followed by mixed carbon ribbon and optimal resin ribbon. There are many types of carbon ribbons available in the professional market. Here, Xiao Zhang will teach you how to distinguish between the following three types of carbon ribbons.
Wax based carbon ribbon, with carbon black and wax as the primary active ingredients, occupies 70% of the professional market. They primarily print smooth surface label stickers, such as outer packaging labels, copperplate paper label stickers, logistics transportation label stickers, logistics transportation label stickers, and warehouse label stickers. Based on the fact that wax based carbon strips are more economical and cost-effective to use, they have become the preferred choice for low-quality label stickers. The actual effect of packaging printing is clear, but its scratch resistance is poor, and it is very easy to scratch and blur over time.
Hybrid baseband is generally used for label stickers that require printing effects based on resin and wax. It is more suitable for printing relatively smooth surface labels, such as copperplate paper, synthetic paper, label stickers, and clothing labels that must be stored for a long time. According to the mixed printing label stickers, they have stronger practical effects, can be stored for a long time, are not easy to scratch, and have scratch resistance. Used for packaging and printing clothing labels, jewelry labels, and other materials to improve product quality.
Resin based carbon ribbons are all based on resin and used for packaging and printing PET materials and ordinary grade coating label stickers. They can be divided into ordinary resin based carbon ribbons and resin based carbon ribbons for special purposes. When making a purchase, the first thing to check is whether the material is coated with smooth or matte film. The frosted silver PET, white PET, high-temperature resistant tape and other materials used for resin ribbon packaging printing have clear packaging printing effects, are more scratch resistant, heat-resistant and alcohol resistant. The cleaning tape with adhesive tape is specifically designed for washing clothes. It is made of resin and printed on a cleaning pad. It is washable, heat-resistant, and very durable.
The key to choosing which type of carbon ribbon to use depends on the material label to be printed. There are too many types of label stickers. According to the different surface materials, it can be divided into coated paper, film (PET, PVC, etc.), washed cloth, carbon tape, synthetic paper, fragile paper, and thermal paper. Adhesives include hydrosols, hot melt adhesives, etc. The base paper is primarily glass paper. The above is a brief introduction to the differences between the three carbon ribbons.
What should I do if the carbon ribbon of the barcode printer is not printed clearly?
In addition to choosing high-quality carbon ribbon with reliable quality, the cleanliness of the barcode printer print head also directly affects the printing effect. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly check the core parts of the barcode printer& mdash; Print head. The print head is an expensive consumable component composed of thousands of heating points, which are converted into heat and pressure through electricity to transfer carbon ribbon ink to the carrier. The unclear printing effect is often due to contamination of the print head
In general, print head manufacturers recommend using non abrasive materials to clean the print head to prevent damage from abrasive materials
Cotton swabs and alcohol: For cleaning narrow areas of the print head, cotton swabs and alcohol are good choices
Cleaning Pen:Using a cleaning pen with cleaning agent is also relatively simple and convenient to use.
Print head cleaning cloth:Wiping the print head cleaning cloth is the most efficient and convenient way to clean.
